Kwesé TV has launched its streaming service and devices under the Kwesé Play brand in South Africa.

The new Kwesé Play is a Roku powered streaming box which hooks to your home internet and has various applications already installed in the streaming box.

The Roku set-top box doesn’t offer the hard to get new content which are available in the USA. It seems to only be better than the Android TV boxes available in the market by the fact that it has a powerful processor and most of the apps installed on the box are optimised for the platforms.

Some content like from HBO are missing due to geo-limitations imposed by the service providers over rights.

Some of the available services are Netflix, YouTube, TED, NBA League Pass and RedBull TV. You will also get CNNgo, ABC News and Fox News. The total number of channels available for streaming will be more than 100 while the Android boxes offer more than 400 channels.

The buyers in South Africa will have to fork out around R1600 (US$123) for the set top box, of which they will get Netflix free for 3 months. Buying the platform doesn’t make the channels free. You will still have to pay for the NBA League pass, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix etc.

Anyway, many service providers might just make things better

In Kenya, Safaricom’s Big Box, Apple Tv, Android boxes and the smart TVs still dominate the space. Kenyans love the Android boxes because they can watch 4k content for free through pirated subscriptions.